At Last (Lucky Harbor #5) by Jill Shalvis

Amy Michaels loves her new life in Lucky Harbor. A waitress in the local diner, she's looking forward to her first weekend hike through the mountains. But when a wrong turn takes her off the trail, she finds herself up close and personal with forest ranger Matt Bowers. And even though she's tempted to kiss that sexy smile right off his face, she won't make the mistake of getting involved with the town heartthrob.

A former cop whose life went south, Matt doesn't let anyone get too close. But something about the feisty beauty caught his eye the moment he first saw her in the diner. After a hot night under a starry sky, Matt can't deny their attraction-or the fact that for the first time in a long time, he feels the stirrings of something more. Now it's up to Matt to help Amy see that, no matter what is in their past, together they can build a future in Lucky Harbor.

Type: Contemporary Romance
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5

Happy. Sigh. Jill Shalvis did it again. The woman just keeps knocking them out of the park and I am so damn thankful. I just love this series and At Last was an excellent addition. The "chocoholics" are back and this time their mission happens to be "good girl" lessons for one Amy Michaels who is doing her best to avoid sexy Forest Ranger Matt Bowers. The characters, the romance, wonderful friendships and the added mystery surrounding a young runaway all come together for a very satisfying read. 

“She found herself smiling. "Was the big, bad forest ranger scared?" 

"I stared a fire," he said instead of answering, and the typical guy avoidance of admitting fear made her smile in the dark. "But even after I had a roaring fire, I still felt watched." 

"What did you do?" 

His hand was still gliding up and down her back, absently soothing, not-so-absently arousing her further. "I got up and searched the perimeter," he said. "Often. I finally fell asleep holding my gun, and at first light was startled awake by a curious teenage bear." 

"Oh my God," she said on a horrified laugh. "What happened?" 

Amusement came into his voice. "I shot the shit out of a tree and scared the hell out of us both. I fell backward off the log I'd fallen asleep on, and the bear did the same. Then we both scrambled to our feet, and he went running off to his mama. If my mama had been anywhere within two thousand miles, I'd have gone running off to her just the same as the bear." 

The first part of this book had me laughing my ass off. Hand-to-God. Tears streaming down my cheeks I was laughing so hard. I love the sense of humor Shalvis incorporates and how it lightens what could have been a much darker story as Amy tries to overcome a pretty traumatic past and helps a young runaway going through something similar. Matt and Amy were hot and steamy together with great tension, very sexy scenes and sweet teasing. They're both dealing with insecurities and doubts that cause some serious bumps along the way but will have you pulling for them to figure it all out.

Shalvis does a great job with the support characters as well. One of my favorite things about this series is that the characters all have a group of friends they rely on. The women with their Chocoholic group and the men who've known each other forever and tend to knock the everliving hell out of each other at the gym and never stop teasing each other. You really can't help but smile at all their antics and enjoy the added depth and charm they all add to the storyline.  

Shalvis never fails to create a fantastic love story and wonderful characters that will have your heart melting one minute and leave you laughing so hard it hurts the next. If you love books with heart, humor and lots of heat you won't want to miss At Last or the rest of the Lucky Harbor series. This small town and the people that call it home are delightfully quirky and endlessly entertaining.

Get Your Copy:   Amazon    Barnes&Noble

Have you met the people of Lucky Harbor? Have a favorite character? 

Would you want to live in a slightly insane town like theirs?